Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1908 - 1919

This letter to Philip Zilcken was written in Paris by Willem Byvanck in 1908. It’s not exactly a painting, but the way Byvanck forms each letter with ink and pen is like mark-making, right? Look at the flow of the handwriting, how it leans and loops across the page! The ink is dark, almost black, against the creamy paper. You can almost feel the nib of the pen scratching the surface. There's a rhythm here, a kind of dance between the writer and the page. Each word, each sentence, builds on the last, creating a texture of thought. I’m interested in the connection between handwriting and drawing; it’s kind of like a direct line to the artist's mind, don't you think? The practice of writing letters, especially handwritten ones, feels like a lost art now. It makes me think of other artists who were also writers, like Vincent van Gogh. His letters to his brother Theo, are full of insights into his art and his life. Like Van Gogh, this letter shows us something essential about the artist and the world they inhabited.